Whiskey Guide, From Behind the Bar

October 13, 2014

Sales of North American whisky are soaring and consumers want to learn more about these spirits. One way to do this is to sit down in a well-stocked bar and start sampling. If your sampling is guided by knowledgeable bartenders, then so much the better. For those in Southern California, the Aero Club is a good place to do this.

With over 900 whiskies on Aero’s bar you’ll be hard pressed to know where to start, and that’s where the bartenders come in. Four of them contribute brief notes for each of the 250 whiskies featured in this book and already, there is a lesson here. Who you drink with determines what you enjoy.

Jeff and John follow the whisky orthodoxy fairly closely. With their recommendations you’ll learn what you are supposed to know about the whiskies of North America. Annie and Brandon, on the other hand are more adventurous, evaluating each whisky on its own merits. Jeff and John will help you become a knowledgeable drinker; Annie and Brandon will push you into connoisseur territory.

For those who can’t visit the Aero Club, Chad Berkey, along with Jeremy LeBlanc from the Parq restaurant & nightclub, have written The North American Whisky Guide, From Behind the Bar. It is so refreshing to read a whisky book written by someone from beyond the hard-core of the whisky world.

Berkey and LeBlanc bring original, well-thought-out perspectives of experienced bartenders to a genre that has attracted more than its share of cut-and-paste books. Yes, all the old favourites are included, but so are whiskies from off the beaten track. Billy Boy straight whisky, Roughstock Montana rye, Campbell & Cooper Canadian, Wathan’s single barrel and Cyrus Nobel small batch are not in the average whisky lover’s vocabulary. Here is an opportunity to learn about them from people who have tasted them and poured them for their customers.

The book includes an overview of what makes each whisky style distinctive, tasting notes for a broad range of selected bottlings along with bartender’s comments, whisky and cigar pairing recommendations, a whiskies-you-must-try-before-you-die bucket list, and what the authors call 30 standout cocktail recipes.

The Whisky Sour, I am told, is the most popular whisky cocktail in North America and the world. So, you can bet Chad Berkey and Jeremy LeBlanc have mixed more than a few in their time behind the bar. Here’s how they do it:

Aero Whiskey Sour

2 slices lemon

2 oz (60 ml) Fighting Cock Bourbon

¼ oz (7 g) simple syrup

¼ oz (7 g) egg white

Ice

Dash of Angostura Bitters

Cherry, for garnish

Cinnamon, for garnish

Muddle the lemon in a shaker, then add the bourbon, simple syrup and egg white. Dry shake vigorously, then add the ice and shake vigorously again. Strain over ice in a rocks glass, and garnish with a dash of Angostura Bitters, a cherry and a pinch of cinnamon.*

The City of Waterloo Museum’s latest exhibit, Initial Success: 100 Years of V.O. Whisky, showcases the 100-year history of one of Canada’s best known whiskies. The exhibition continues from Oct. 2, 2013 to Jan. 31, 2014.

Corby Distillers and the Globe and Mail, are co-sponsoring a high-end tasting event to draw attention to my book Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert. Sample Wiser’s Small Batch; Legacy; Pike Creek; and Lot 40.

Eight adventurers set off for The Kingdom of Tonga with leader and thirsty traveler Kevin Brauch in search of a case of Canadian Club whisky hidden there as part of the ‘Hide A Case’ brand promotion campaign.

Queen Elizabeth II of England was the fifth in her line to grant a royal warrant (now withdrawn) to Canadian Club whisky. Will King George V of Tonga restore this honour to the much-storied distillery with his warrant?

Post-911 legislation forbids visitors to plants that ship goods into the U.S. by road, so visitors are not welcome at Canadian distilleries. Look inside Hiram Walker’s, Canadian Mist, Forty Creek, Valleyfield, and Glenora.

Davin de Kergommeaux takes readers on a journey through the first systematic presentation of Canadian whisky: how it’s made, who makes it, why it tastes the way it does, its history, and the rich, centuries-old folklore surrounding it.

Father’s Day shopping for the man who has everything just became a whole lot easier at Chapters and Indigo book stores. Canada’s nationwide bookseller is recommending Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert for fathers this year.

The Canadian Whisky Awards recognize the very best Canadian whiskies of 2010, including Wiser’s Legacy, Forty Creek Confederation Oak, Caribou Crossing, Canadian Club, Crown Royal Black, and White Owl Whisky.

Lot No. 40, a whisky that was first distilled seven generations ago has been named the Canadian Whisky of the Year Award at the fourth annual Canadian Whisky Awards held in Victoria BC, January 16, 2014.

From hundreds of new spirits books published in 2012, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is one of five to compete for Best Spirits Book in The World at the Gourmand International Book Awards to be held in Paris February 23, 2013.

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert has been selected as the Wine, Beer, or Spirits book of 2012 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. The prize was announced at an awards ceremony held last night in San Francisco.

For the next four Sundays sign on to #DavinTT2 on Twitter for a Canadian whisky tasting, discussion and treasure hunt. Please join us on Twitter at 3:00 PM Eastern time on December 1, 8, 15, & 22, 2013.

A series of six videos from John Hall’s Kitting Ridge Distillery along with clips from Glen Breton, Wiser’s, Canadian Club, Black Velvet, Crown Royal, Still Waters, and Phillips of Revel Stoke fame. Laugh and learn!

Eric Morham, president of Constellation Brands’ Canadian business will retire and Ben Dollard, SVP International will succeed Morham in the leadership role. Constellation owns the Black Velvet and Danfield’s brands.

What a year 2012 has turned out to be! It seems that nearly every distillery had Christmas giving in mind when they came up with their new releases. Danfield’s, Black Velvet, Alberta Premium, Masterson’s, Highwood, Still Waters, Collingwood, Forty Creek, Lot 40, Pike Creek, Wiser’s, Gibson’s . . .

Whisky, rum and spirits expert, Dave Broom has been named top communicator of 2013 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. A writer and educator, Broom is the world’s leading expert on whisky, rum and spirits.

Dave Broom, a contributing editor for Whisky Magazine, and a leading authority on whisky, rum, cognac and cocktails is introducing a comprehensive on-line whisky appreciation course called The World Masterclass. Here is an opportunity to tap into Broom’s vast knowledge.

A bottle of Wiser’s Deluxe made in Windsor from Ontario grain is sold to the LCBO for $6.35. Ontarians pay $27.25 for that same bottle at the LCBO. Of the $20.90 increase, $16.14 goes to the LCBO and the provincial government.

Ask anyone in the Irish diaspora what distinguishes Irish whiskey, and you’ll get a lecture.They’ll rhyme off a whole list of things that make it special. But nine times out of ten, most of what they tell you will be wrong.

Italy’s Gruppo Campari will buy 100% of Forty Creek Distillery. John Hall will remain as whisky maker and chairman of the company. A small to medium-sized distillery with three stills, Forty Creek has capacity to make about 555,000 cases of whisky annually.

Heart of Gold, a limited edition of 9,000, individually numbered bottles, will be available beginning September 28, 2013. Forty Creek fans may reserve their numbered bottles between Monday, May 27th and Friday, June 21st, 2013.

It’s a September tradition for Kittling Ridge Distillery to release a limited edition Forty Creek whisky and a May tradition for people to visit the Forty Creek website to sign up for a numbered bottle or two. This year’s release is called John’s Private Cask No. 1.

John K. Hall, one of Canada’s best known whisky makers is set to reprise his limited bottling Port Wood Reserve. Reservations for this new batch open Monday May 7, 2012 and close one month later on June 7.

“Unity,” is the special release for 2018 from Forty Creek Distillery in Grimsby, Canada. Orders for numbered bottles close on May 25, 2018. The whisky will be available at the distillery and in stores beginning in September.

The 2011 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) honoured Gibson’s Finest with three coveted awards. The Gibson’s Finest 12 Year Old earned the highest rating of all Canadian Whiskies taking home a Gold Award.

Tapping into the growing trend of flavored whisky, Hood River Distillers, Inc. announces the launch of SinFire™ Cinnamon Whisky. The “SinFire” name instantly lets the drinker know they are in for a unique, sweet yet sizzling experience.

TAP 357 is a new premium maple-flavored Canadian rye whisky. This small-batch whisky is a marriage of two purely Canadian flavors: rye and maple. New in February 2012 from Van Gogh Imports in Orlando Florida.

It’s safe to say there was no pagoda atop the Kinclaith Distillery, no quaint dunnage warehouses with earthen floors and blackened, low, stone walls. Kinclaith was part of a big, ugly, industrial complex. Yet in its 17 short years some much-sought-after Scotch malts were put to cask.

Canadian Whisky has been nominated for a 2010 Canadian Food Blog Award in the Wine & Spirits category. So have Billy’s Best Bottles, Cellar Door, Vin Arts Enterprises, and The Jolly Inebriate. The winner is announced, January 31!

Thorough, detailed and up to date, The Malt Whisky Yearbook is a goldmine of malt whisky facts and figures. As more Canadian malt whiskies become available, Ingvar Ronde and his Yearbook will be there to tell the world about them.

Since Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert was published people ask me more about writing than about whisky. My book blossomed after Dave Broom included me in his World Atlas of Whisky, and Dominic Roskrow in his two books, 1001 Whiskies to Taste Before You Die, and The Whisky Opus.

The former Seagram museum in Waterloo, Ontario, will step back in time on January 29 to celebrate the home-coming of Seagram’s New Zealand whisky, a long-lost child of Canada’s former distilling empire.

Shelter Point Distillery is making history by releasing its inaugural Canadian Whisky Cask Offer to the public. Shelter Point makes traditional Scottish-style single malt on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

Eight years ago, Johanna Ngoh founded the popular Spirit of Toronto whisky show, held each May at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. In 2002 she began publishing a whisky fanzine called Single Minded™. Single Minded™ is now back as Johanna’s full-colour, annual guide to really good whisky. Just $15.00.

Vaughan, Ontario, May 23, 2014 – Still Waters Distillery announces the release of its STALK & BARREL SINGLE MALT WHISKY at the LCBO. This is the first Single Malt Whisky to be distilled, aged and bottled in Ontario.

Still Waters Distillery has released it’s first mature single malt whisky. Stalk & Barrel was drawn from the first few casks of whisky made at the distillery in 2009 and is bottled at natural cask strength.

What? Vodka on a whisky site? Yes, this is Still Waters Single Malt Vodka – it’s vodka made from the same spirit that is slowly maturing into Still Waters Single Malt Whisky. We thought you should know. ★★★★★

New Year’s 2012 thanks to Canadian whisky lovers and whisky makers, and to the promoters and sponsors of the Victoria Whisky Festival, Savour Stratford, and Whisky Live, who have supported CanadianWhisky.org in 2011.

Join whisky fans from around the globe on Twitter this Sunday, May 19, at 3:00 Eastern time as they discuss Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert, and raise a dram of Canadian whisky. Go to #DavinTT on Twitter at 3:00 Eastern time this Sunday to take part.

It’s more than two years since my book, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert was released. Since then, on the strength of that book, I have travelled on three continents introducing people to Canada’s native spirit.

Dave Broom’s Whisky: The Manual brings new insights to the real joy of whisky – its myriad flavours. After delving into its history and how whisky is made, we learn how to tease out the richest and most subtle of its flavours.

To mark the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey today, William Grant & Sons mixologist, Charlotte Voisey, has created a honeymoon cocktail featuring Gibson’s Finest Canadian Whisky.